(Thomas POV)
Edythe and I were at the Cullen house, visiting for the first time in a while. My mind was still a little unfocused about everything that had happened…getting used to married life, then Leah joining our relationship, so I figured I could be forgiven for my current muddled thoughts.
The big news that had my brain stuttering… Bella and Edward were getting married. Alice dropped it on me the second we walked in by asking Edythe a question.
"Good to see you two!" She rushed Edythe and hugged her. "You aren't planning to use Esme Island for your honeymoon, right? Because I think it would be a good idea for Edward and Bella to go there right after their wedding."
I played that through my head a few times before I finally caught up with the conversation, which had already moved on.
"It's been accepted that Bella will make the change and join our family," Alice was telling Edythe, "But she really wanted Edward to be the one to change her. He'd only do it if she married him. Honestly, I think he was hoping to delay her a few years with that condition."
Alice gave us a conspiratorial wink. "But I can see that she is going to turn it around by asking for…" she flicked me an appraising look "intimacy. Bella wants to have some…experiences before the change, and she's hyper-focused on feeding through her newborn stage."
I refused to follow that thought too far. Was this the reason Edward hadn't been looking very happy with me lately? Would I be giving him the same look after his wedding night? Probably.
Alice continued anyway. "They just need to settle on a date. She isn't even wearing the ring full-time yet. I swear they have no concern for those of us trying to plan things out in advance."
Edythe looked thoughtful for a moment. "I bet she starts wearing it after graduation, so she doesn't have to deal with all the rumors. You know how she hates the extra attention. So just a few more days for that. And… knowing her aversion to being much older than Edward's physical age, I bet she won't wait for her next birthday. Late spring or early summer. Let's plan for that."
Esme walked over and joined us, sitting next to Edythe and hugging her. "We should hold off any more wedding talk until Rosalie is done working on her car. She'll be put out if we plan too much without her, even if she pretends not to be."
"Yes, Mom," Edythe said, and hugged Esme back, hard. "I've missed you. It feels strange to be so close and not be here with everyone."
Esme tucked a strand of hair behind Edythe's ear. "You can come over any time, love. You know that, but you have your own life to live now. Come help me cook, Emmett brought back some fresh bear meat from his last hunt." She looked at me. "How hungry are you, Thomas? I found a recipe for a bear stew I think you'd enjoy."
Even though I'd eaten recently, my mouth still watered. "I could always eat, especially if you're cooking. And anything left over I'll take home, so thank you in advance."
She smiled, and she and Edythe moved to the kitchen. I looked back at Alice, "Where is Emmett anyway?"
She gave a short laugh, "He is playing car jack right now. Rose got a new gear kit she wanted to put in her car, and he is trying to be extra sweet for her lately. She is still a bit temperamental about Bella joining us permanently."
Alice then leaned towards me and spoke softly, "So, uhm. You wanna tell me why I can't see anything going on at your house anymore, even when you aren't there with Edythe? And why do you guys both smell like wolves? Or should I say one wolf in particular?"
I sighed and wondered if Esme was asking the same question of Edythe in the kitchen. "It's a bit complicated… Well, a lot complicated. But the short of it is that Leah has joined our relationship. Leah and Edythe share a mental…familiarity, I guess, would be the best way to say it. Also, Leah and I had some unresolved feelings. So, we decided this was the best answer for all our needs."
Alice rocked back in her chair, "Wow. Talk about complicated."
"We are working it out." I looked around, "Where is Jasper?"
Alice smiled brightly, "He is upstairs in our room on the computer. His guild has a raid going today and he is leading it."
Our conversation was put on hold as we heard Edward's car pull into the driveway, only to be followed by Emmett's loud laughter moments later. Then Bella walked into the living room, gingerly holding her right wrist carefully to her chest. She was soon followed by Edward.
"What happened to you? Find some stairs to fall down, or was it ice?"
Edward was the one to answer, his face cloudy. "She tried to break it on a stupid Wolf."
Bella looked embarrassed as I laughed at her.
"What did Jacob do to get you that mad at him?" Knowing that only one wolf would stand still long enough for her to hit him.
"Hekissedme…"
While my mind was trying to decode that, I asked. "Say again?"
She took a deep breath and let it out. "Jacob kissed me without my permission. So, I hit him."
All my humor faded away once she said it clearly. After a moment, I looked at Edward. "Did you hurt him badly?"
Edward's face went darker, and he gestured to Bella, "She wouldn't let me… So, he got a pass this time. But if it happens again, he will lose a leg at minimum. I even told him so myself."
I stood up, "I think I will go have a conversation about how he treats my sister."
Bella jumped in front of me, "No. I already handled it, and he won't do it again. You are not getting in a fight over something that's done already."
"Bella… He and I WILL have words over this. No one pushes themselves on my sister. How would he react if someone did that to either of his sisters?"
"But not until you have cooled down, Thomas." Came Bella's reply.
As much as I wanted to ignore her, I sat back down.
Carlisle came walking down the stairs, "I hear I have a patient to look after. Come along, Bella."
Bella and Edward followed him downstairs into the lab slash doctor's office, Carlisle asking questions the whole way until the door was closed.
Later that day, after Bella (With her sprained wrist wrapped) and I had eaten a wonderful bear stew, Alice began talking about the planned graduation party.
With the whole family gathered, I saw a look from Edythe and knew immediately what she wanted, so I simply nodded my head and let her take the lead.
"So…Um. While we have everyone here, I think it's a good time to bring this up." As she paused a moment to organize her thoughts, Edward drew in a sharp breath and looked startled. I assumed he saw what she was building up to.
"Even though Thomas and I just recently wed, we have decided to let Leah into our relationship." She paused for a moment to let everyone get their first reactions out of the way.
Rosalie, "The female dog?
Emmett, "A Wolf?"
Edward, looking at me with daggers in his eyes, said, "Why?" Directing the question only at me.
Esme didn't look surprised, nor did Alice. Both had heard it earlier.
Bella, like Edward, looked only at me. "You're what?"
I raised my hands, "Calm down and let us explain, please."
Seconds later, we were all calm, and I knew it was due to Jasper's efforts.
Edythe had her eyes locked on Carlisle. I knew he was her biggest worry because of his religious upbringing.
I looked over at Jasper, "Thanks, but could you please let it happen naturally? That way, there are no doubts about people feeling it on their own. No doubt that they reacted the way they felt naturally."
Jasper looked into my eyes and then nodded.
It seemed that while Jasper and I talked out loud, Edythe and Carlisle had a conversation with their eyes. No powers, just the way a father and a daughter can silently communicate.
"Are you happy?" Carlisle asked out loud, finally?"
She smiled, "You knew about Kate and me. So, you know that is just the way I am. Let's face it, from my history, my love for Thomas is the biggest surprise here."
"You will always have my support, Edythe," Carlisle said with a smile.
"But the wolves hate us." Rosalie objected.
I took this one, "No Rose, they hate Vampires. And while you are a Vampire, you don't kill or make a sport out of feeding on people. They are learning that there is a difference."
Emmett looked at Edythe with a smirk, "So, you needed help to handle him, or did he need help to handle you?" He finished with an exaggerated wag of his eyebrows.
Edythe just rolled her eyes, "Prick."
Bella's brows scrunched like she was doing a math problem. "But…you and Edythe just got married."
"We did," I agreed. "And we still are. That doesn't change. Eventually, we will marry Leah. Either by her tribe, or somewhere else, when we are ready."
Edward's voice cut in, too controlled to be calm. "Why her?"
Not why this. Not how.
Why Leah.
I didn't rise to it. I kept my voice even. "Because it happened honestly. Because we all chose it. And because we're not pretending the pull between the three of us doesn't exist."
Edward's eyes flashed. "A pull. Like Jacob claims to have for Bella?"
Edythe's tone cooled. "Don't reduce it, Edward."
He looked at her, jaw tight. "I'm not reducing anything. I'm trying to understand why my sister is tying herself to a wolf who hates us."
Edythe didn't back down at all. "She hated what we started by coming here. In her eyes, we destroyed her life by moving back and waking the wolf gene. But she is able to see past that now. She sees Thomas and me as her mates. Give her a chance to get to know you all and it will change her even more."
Rosalie let out a small, dismissive sound.
Esme's hand came down lightly on Rosalie's arm. Not restraining. Just… enough.
"Edward," Esme said softly, and somehow that made the room listen. "This isn't your decision. They are happy, and just because it's different from our views doesn't make it any less special."
Alice just shrugged when Edythe looked at her, "Just another sister for me."
Carlisle broke in with a question, "What do you mean, we woke the Wolf gene?"
Glad for the change of subject, I told him the stories about how the wolf gene activates. This along with what I had told him about Eleraim's books had him looking for paper to make notes on.
"Hmm, I wonder if I should make my next college experience about gene theory. It would be a change from my traditional medical field but maybe a break from that isn't a bad idea." Carlisle wondered out loud, his eyes lost in the possibilities.
The rest of the evening was normal, well normal for a Vampire, shifter and human gathering. When it started getting dark, we gathered half of the stew leftovers, Bella taking the other half to feed Charlie.
"Well, that could have gone worse." Edythe commented when we were about halfway home.
"Honestly it was about what I expected. You are all so close-knit as a family that nothing short of a true betrayal can be worked out."
Edythe took another breath, "I want to ask Leah to come with us on our trip after Bella and Edward's wedding. Is that okay with you?"
"You didn't call it a Honeymoon this time. Is that your way of phrasing it so Leah doesn't object to going with us?"
"You know if I call it a Honeymoon, she will not go. Thinking that she would be interrupting us, no matter what we say. So, if a little word change increases my chances of convincing her to go it's a no brainer."
I laughed, "Yeah, I know. She still insists on going home every other night just to make sure we have plenty of time alone. It's cute, and very…her."
Edythe's lips turned into a sinister smile, "She is staying tonight, and I found the perfect teddy to 'sleep' in tonight. Wanna place bets on how long she can keep her hands to herself?"
I shook my head in exasperation, "You just love tempting her self-control don't you. You didn't get enough of that with me did you."
She looked away, flipping her hair, "Hey and immortal girl has to have her quirks, doesn't she?"
"But this particular quirk is torturing me along with Leah!"
"I know, love." Edythe's smile turned even more sinister, "I know."